Chapter 2

Lu Chi shouted, "Call the police! Everyone, get out here!" as he took off running. When he was only a few steps from the alley corner, he stopped again and threw several stones into the alley—he was afraid someone might be hiding behind the wall, waiting to ambush him.

Sure enough, the instant the stones made a noise, a gust of wind rushed at him. A dark figure appeared before Lu Chi in a flash, holding a half-meter-long iron rod. Prepared in advance, Lu Chi grabbed his pepper spray and wildly sprayed it into the man's eyes, then brought an iron shovel down on his shoulder. With a miserable scream, the man staggered back several steps clutching his eyes, and the iron rod fell from his hand.

The dead-end alley immediately rang with the girl's frantic cries for help and men's curses, along with what sounded like further struggling. Lu Chi's heart tightened, and he immediately called out, "We've already called the police! They'll be here soon, and the neighbors are coming too..."

The alley suddenly fell quiet. Before long, two shadowy figures darted out from the dead end. They glanced at Lu Chi, who was gripping the iron rod, then at the man lying on the ground. Just as they were about to come over, a burst of commotion suddenly rose behind Lu Chi.

The two men halted, abandoned their companion without a second thought, and immediately turned to run. At the same time, the rescued girl collapsed onto the ground and burst into loud sobs.

Lu Chi relaxed, knowing the danger had basically passed. All the strength drained from him at once. Before he could even catch his breath, someone suddenly grabbed him by the back of his collar.

A sharp, fiery voice cursed behind him, "You little brat! You're the one who smashed our window, aren't you?"

Chapter 2

The hero who had acted bravely for a just cause instantly became a naughty kid who had smashed someone's glass. Lu Chi said emergencies called for expedient measures, but he certainly would not pay for the broken window. He suggested the neighbors ask the rescued girl's parents for reimbursement.

The still-shaken girl stared at him with wide eyes, looking blankly at Lu Chi as though she had never expected him to say such a thing.

The girl had fair skin, delicate features, and exceptionally lovely brows and eyes. But night was falling, and there were no streetlights in the alley, so no one could clearly see what she looked like. Besides, her ponytail had come undone during the violent struggle, leaving her messy hair hanging over her face like a madwoman's. Her expensive-looking white lace dress had been torn and stained with grime everywhere. Wrapped in Lu Chi's oversized school uniform, she trembled among the crowd like a quail—yet even so, her lovely features and elegant temperament could not be concealed.

The woman who had grabbed Lu Chi's collar and demanded compensation softened at once. She smiled awkwardly at the girl and comforted her, "Don't be scared. We won't ask you for money. Actually, we wanted to come out and save you long ago..." It was just that those thugs lived nearby and knew everything about the households in this area. Everyone was afraid of getting dragged into trouble, so they had... hesitated for a little while.

The girl pressed her lips together at that, saying nothing. She simply held the oversized school uniform closed with her hands and looked gratefully at the boy who had just saved her from those bad men.

Then she saw the boy do something even more outrageous—

Lu Chi was talking to a fish vendor who had just returned after packing up his stall. He asked the vendor for several large black plastic bags and a roll of clear tape. He tore the bags open, spread them flat, and taped them together into an incredibly ugly plastic cape.

Then Lu Chi carried the plastic cape over to the girl. Pointing at the school uniform she was wearing, he said, "Take off my clothes and put this on."

The girl: "..."

The watching neighbors: "..."

Looking at the crude plastic-bag cape in Lu Chi's hands, the girl could not help saying, "Classmate, you're from Yanda Affiliated High School too, right? Then you should know me. I—"

Before she could finish, Lu Chi raised a brow and cut off her introduction. "Who you are has nothing to do with me. Tell the police when they get here. Now take off my school uniform and change into this. I need to go home."

The girl froze, choked off by his words. Her gaze swept over the curious neighbors gathered around them—they all had their ears perked up, apparently eager to hear who she really was. Some even enthusiastically took off their own jackets and offered them to her, joking that Lu Chi was an immature teenage boy who did not know how to cherish a pretty girl.

The many different reactions made the girl shudder—perhaps these people meant no harm, but in such an embarrassing situation, she did not want too many people to learn her identity and turn her misfortune into gossip over tea.

Vaguely, the girl seemed to understand why Lu Chi had interrupted her.

But precisely because of that, she did not want to return Lu Chi's clothes just like that. At the very least... she had to know who her lifesaver was.

"Classmate, could you—"

"No!" After all this commotion, it was nearly eight o'clock at night. Lu Chi was worried about Lu Miaomiao, who was home alone, and his tone turned stiff. "Someone is waiting for me at home."

As he spoke, Lu Chi slipped the taped plastic-bag cape over the girl. "I can't go to the police station with you, and I don't want to know who you are. We probably won't have a chance to meet again. So please give me back my school uniform."

A school uniform cost one hundred and twenty yuan. If Lu Chi lost it, he could not afford a new one.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on the girl's face. After going through something like that—even though she had escaped unharmed—she had still regarded Lu Chi as someone she could trust. Yet judging from her rescuer's attitude, he seemed desperate to avoid her.

For a moment, the girl felt both dejected and humiliated. In her short life of little more than ten years, she had never encountered a person or situation like this.

The girl bit her lip and silently took off Lu Chi's school uniform. The instant Lu Chi reached out to take it, she instinctively gripped the clothes tightly, making one last attempt. "I got your clothes dirty. I can wash them and return them to you afterward."

"No need." Lu Chi lightly shook his head and pulled his school uniform from her hands.